back to the original question...i'm an old guitar player and after years of searching for an amp that "sounded like me," I found an H&K with a tube pre-amp and solid state amp. I loved the pairing so much, I decided to recreate that setup in my audio system. When I finally saved up the bucks to plop down for a tube pre, I found an Anthem (model PRE-2L) with remote volume and a cool little button that puts it in bypass mode for HT applications. This allows you to set up your mains with a pair of monoblocks or a stereo amp backed by the Anthem and your choice of sources. I use cd and turntable (with an outboard phono pre-amp). When you want to watch a DVD (or listen to SACD or DVD-A if you have it), you hit the bypass button and your home theater processor/pre-amp (in my case, an Outlaw 1050)is able to play through the anthem to take advantage of the amp and mains used for 2-channel listening. This eliminates the need for extra speakers or cables or switching cables. The reason this was so appealing to me: I went for a budget system for movies (Toshiba DVD, Outlaw receiver, Energy Take-5 satellite surrounds and center) but I take my music very seriously. I listen to vinyl and cd on a Music Hall MMF-7 and Jolida JD-100 tube/hybrid cd player ,respectively, through the Anthem to a B&K Ref-2220 going to a pair of Quad 22L loudspeakers. The Anthem has allowed me to watch movies with the benefits of the B&K and the Quads, where before, I had two completely separate systems with nothing but satellites all around. The 1050 is a monster for the price and adequately drives the Quads; I have been thrilled with it, but it does not keep up with a 220 wpc reference series B&K for dynamics and clarity in 2-channel listening. This is why I have always had two systems (the two receivers I cycled through prior to finding the 1050 left an even bigger gap in performance). The warmth of the tubes is amazing for music and I will probably always have a tube pre-amp of some kind somewhere in my listening arsenal. I am thinking of upgrading my 1050 for a 950 to get the extra processing formats and other upgrades (I have six Marantz MA700 monoblocks just sitting there burning a hole through their boxes)but I will still use the tube pre-amp for music. There are other tube pre-amps that function like the PRE-2L but they were much more expensive to start with and I got a deal on the PRE-2L anyway (retail $1300, I paid $900 NIB). I have seen some PRE-2Ls on E-bay and Audiogon and saw one on consignment recently at Atlanta Audio in Marietta, GA. It is recently out of production but you may find a new one at an Anthem dealer (that's where I got mine). The fun never ends; good luck finding the right equipment for yourself.